This work investigates the historical and psychological mechanisms by which European societies have constructed the concept of the 'barbarian' to justify violence and define their own identity. Claude Rawson, a scholar of eighteenth-century literature, utilizes a wide-ranging analysis of literary texts and historical events to trace the evolution of this exclusionary rhetoric. By examining the period between the colonization of the Americas and the Nazi Holocaust, the author argues that the projection of barbarism onto 'others' frequently masks the inherent brutality within the civilized metropolitan center.

Scholars frequently cite this text for its rigorous synthesis of literary analysis and historical inquiry into the nature of human violence. Experts highlight the book as a significant contribution to understanding how intellectual traditions have historically facilitated or challenged the justification of genocide.